State Approves Two New Supercritical Power Plants for Expansion

The West Bengal state government cabinet on Monday agreed to set up two supercritical power units at Salboni, Jhargram, at a cost of more than ₹10,000 crore. State Power Minister Aroop Biswas said the new units, both of 800 MW capacity, will be set up in the public-private partnership (PPP) mode.

These units will be incorporated into the two 800 MW supercritical power plants that are already under construction by the JSW Group in the same region. Biswas also informed about the 660 MW supercritical power plant at Sagardighi, emphasizing that the expansion is to serve the increasing industrial load and facilitate stable power supply. He remembered the extravagant loadshedding under the Left Front government, emphasizing that the ongoing development is to avert any likely power shortages.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, in the inaugural ceremony of the 1600 MW Salboni power plant, previously asserted that Bengal has evolved from being a "loadshedding state" into one providing electricity round the clock. She said that the state has spent ₹76,000 crore in power infrastructure, including generation, transmission, and distribution, since 2011 and will invest another ₹48,000 crore in the next few years.

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The CM also stated that the state has constructed 3.5 lakh km of power transmission lines and 750 substations. ₹3,700 crore alone have been invested in West Midnapore district towards the development of power infrastructure.

The new Salboni projects will be important in contributing to the growing industrial base of Bengal as well as delivering uninterrupted power to residences, industries, and businesses alike.